Peter_Frank wrote:...
Except - I dont understand what you mean "being able to boost on both tacks" ?

...

Nope. It's purely a skill issue. I am a natural footer and my port side boosts are fine. I suspect I push a little harder and keep my left leg a little straighter when riding right foot forward so the jump is a bit less coordinated. I had the same problem when windsurfing. Left foot forward was very comfortable and reliable. Right foot forward was adequate but a bit less fluid and less coordinated.

There's no real incentive to get good at riding my directionals right-foot forward. If the wind is strong I usually stay left-forward and ride toeside. Similarly I can ride toeside in both directions but left foot forward is much more comfortable.

BTW While I think of it, I have chronic low back pain from sitting in front of a computer screen for 35 years. My back is currently almost completely pain free. I attribute this to the constant twisting and flexing from riding toe side, and the effect on stomach and core muscles (I hate that "core" strength shit) of holding an excellent kiting stance and wearing a waist harness. You can do it fine on a TT but the twisting effect of carving turns is more pronounced on a directional.

More FUN is this..on a strapped surfboard....
....on a TT...the fun factor is not even close

...

I don't understand what you're saying. Please explain.

Are you saying the strapped surfboard is more fun? or the TT is more fun? I would have said equal but different.

I am currently enjoying my strapped kite surfboard (F-One Fish, not a normal surfboard at all) and my Sector 60 V3. The TT's don't even make it out of the garage rack. They're still fun but I am currently enjoying more the things I can do with the directionals.

The things I enjoy with the directionals is:
- the speed over chop
- staying dry
- the "dance" of swapping feet, particularly on a wave
- the feel of landing air gybes to toe side
- the greater wind range of a single board
- the nimbleness of the board out of the straps
- the aesthetics of the directional board and fins

From the TT I miss, being able to boost on both tacks, ride in super shallow water, and f.ck off humunguous, overpowered boosts.

TT used to be fun in the river /ocean....at one time...but now totally out of the picture...collecting dust

I am only forced to go in the river...which is not that shallow..on offshore wind days..at my beach
Even then because the water is not butter flat...but has swells to ride.. strap surfboard is what i take

I enjoy all the things you have listed above...about directionals

I like much better the balance point of a surfboards in mid-air for floaty backs and forward
I like the length and swing effect of surfboards.... having the back foot over fins.....
... close to the tail area which has most of the weight...the landings are smooth,precise and fast

I like the way the wind get under the surface area of the surfboard....
....during huge jumps...with the nose of the board pointing straight up to the sky...effortless..

Surfing on a twintip just sucks, you're always catching edges if you try to turn hard. Cuz the boards don't have enough rocker to attack a steep wave face aggresively. If it did have enough rocker it would be ridculously inefficient to have that kinda rocker in the tail.

A twin tip doesn't take long to get to the level of unhooking and throwing s-bends....keeping the challenge alive from there usually involves alot of commitment,crashing pain, and possibly an ACL or two....

Riding strapless, can be super challenging, and is tons of fun without being such a beat down on your body (big wave surfing excluded)

For me I ride both...depending on conditions. usually after 4 hours practicing stuff on my twin tip, my arms, upper back and abs need a rest.....stop, get lunch, then surfboard for the rest of the day

OzBungy wrote:I am currently enjoying my strapped kite surfboard (F-One Fish, not a normal surfboard at all) and my Sector 60 V3. The TT's don't even make it out of the garage rack. They're still fun but I am currently enjoying more the things I can do with the directionals.

The things I enjoy with the directionals is:
- the speed over chop
- staying dry
- the "dance" of swapping feet, particularly on a wave
- the feel of landing air gybes to toe side
- the greater wind range of a single board
- the nimbleness of the board out of the straps
- the aesthetics of the directional board and fins
.

Pretty much everything you list as a benefit or turn-on about directionals reads as a personal gripe list from my point of view.

-I can understand the speed over chop, but the noise factor would drive me f-kin nuts.
-I do it in the water because I like to get wet. I guess I might feel differently about it if the water was 35*, so I'll concede the point a little bit.
-The dance of switching feet is something I don't want to bother with, ever!
-Landing cool tricks you like is always fun, so I'll give you that one.
-No straps to me means no giant boosts, or really awkward boosts, which extrapolates to less fun!
-Directionals are big and clunky, thick, easier to damage, and come with the added bonus of giant fins to watch out for scratching the paint on your car, breaking them off unloading the board from the car, breaking them off in the shallows, stabbing yourself to death on a bailed boost... TTs are more convenient to transport, less fragile, easier to boost, less dangerous in a yard sale wipeout, and easier to learn on. The tradeoff is that they have less float, they are a little less nimble, they are a little less fun while traveling in the same general direction of the waves, and chop tends to screw with you a little more. All in all, it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. That's not to say I won't ever mess around on one, but rather that I'm fine with the tradeoff for my style of riding.

Johnny Rotten wrote:Surfing on a twintip just sucks, you're always catching edges if you try to turn hard. Cuz the boards don't have enough rocker to attack a steep wave face aggresively. If it did have enough rocker it would be ridculously inefficient to have that kinda rocker in the tail.

A twin tip doesn't take long to get to the level of unhooking and throwing s-bends....keeping the challenge alive from there usually involves alot of commitment,crashing pain, and possibly an ACL or two....

Riding strapless, can be super challenging, and is tons of fun without being such a beat down on your body (big wave surfing excluded)

For me I ride both...depending on conditions. usually after 4 hours practicing stuff on my twin tip, my arms, upper back and abs need a rest.....stop, get lunch, then surfboard for the rest of the day

Rotten sorry for you... you have been riding the right boards for flats but be aware there are great boards for freeriding that have none of issues you describe (ahem, it's also up to the rider skill of course)...

OzBungy wrote:I am currently enjoying my strapped kite surfboard (F-One Fish, not a normal surfboard at all) and my Sector 60 V3. The TT's don't even make it out of the garage rack. They're still fun but I am currently enjoying more the things I can do with the directionals.

The things I enjoy with the directionals is:
- the speed over chop
- staying dry
- the "dance" of swapping feet, particularly on a wave
- the feel of landing air gybes to toe side
- the greater wind range of a single board
- the nimbleness of the board out of the straps
- the aesthetics of the directional board and fins
.

Pretty much everything you list as a benefit or turn-on about directionals reads as a personal gripe list from my point of view.

-I can understand the speed over chop, but the noise factor would drive me f-kin nuts.
-I do it in the water because I like to get wet. I guess I might feel differently about it if the water was 35*, so I'll concede the point a little bit.
-The dance of switching feet is something I don't want to bother with, ever!
-Landing cool tricks you like is always fun, so I'll give you that one.
-No straps to me means no giant boosts, or really awkward boosts, which extrapolates to less fun!
-Directionals are big and clunky, thick, easier to damage, and come with the added bonus of giant fins to watch out for scratching the paint on your car, breaking them off unloading the board from the car, breaking them off in the shallows, stabbing yourself to death on a bailed boost... TTs are more convenient to transport, less fragile, easier to boost, less dangerous in a yard sale wipeout, and easier to learn on. The tradeoff is that they have less float, they are a little less nimble, they are a little less fun while traveling in the same general direction of the waves, and chop tends to screw with you a little more. All in all, it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. That's not to say I won't ever mess around on one, but rather that I'm fine with the tradeoff for my style of riding.

Agreed all those advantages are not advantages to me except maybe the wind range thingy

They're not advantages. They're likes. I like my directionals. I liked my TT but now I like my directionals. I don't dislike my TT, I just like my directionals more at the moment (although the "moment" has stretched for two years).

Johnny Rotten wrote: A twin tip doesn't take long to get to the level of unhooking and throwing s-bends....keeping the challenge alive from there usually involves alot of commitment,crashing pain, and possibly an ACL or two....

^^^ this is the reason why i will get a directional, not always in the mood for crashing and without pushing the ride a TT get´s boring

the thing is i tried a directional and f** hate it, ackward. even if i really enjoy my skim

Wow, this became quite a lively topic. I think it is good that everyone has their own preferences. It means there are people developing each aspect of the sport. I'd hate for kiting to have only one type of riding towards which to aspire to.

-I can understand the speed over chop, but the noise factor would drive me f-kin nuts.

What? Is there really a noticeable difference between a surfboard and twintip? You guys must experience riding a hydrofoil downwind some time. Imagine almost silence. No wind noise since you travel downwind almost as fast as the wind. No water splash noise. Only the softest of water spray that sounds like a small water stream in the mountains. In fact it is the only way I have ever experienced where one can actually hear the white water chop break! Not from the shore (since the water hits the shore loudly), not in a boat (since the water hitting the boat is also too noisy) or jumping while kiting on a normal board (since that is stil too noisy due to wind noise) have I heard the sound of wind driven chop breaking in the out in the water. But riding downwind on a hydrofoil makes the difference in sounds between a surfboard and twintip sound ridiculous. But now that you mentioned it I am curious to be more attentive to it next time on the surfboard.

ChristoffM wrote:Wow, this became quite a lively topic. I think it is good that everyone has their own preferences. It means there are people developing each aspect of the sport. I'd hate for kiting to have only one type of riding towards which to aspire to.

-I can understand the speed over chop, but the noise factor would drive me f-kin nuts.

What? Is there really a noticeable difference between a surfboard and twintip? You guys must experience riding a hydrofoil downwind some time. Imagine almost silence. No wind noise since you travel downwind almost as fast as the wind. No water splash noise. Only the softest of water spray that sounds like a small water stream in the mountains. In fact it is the only way I have ever experienced where one can actually hear the white water chop break! Not from the shore (since the water hits the shore loudly), not in a boat (since the water hitting the boat is also too noisy) or jumping while kiting on a normal board (since that is stil too noisy due to wind noise) have I heard the sound of wind driven chop breaking in the out in the water. But riding downwind on a hydrofoil makes the difference in sounds between a surfboard and twintip sound ridiculous. But now that you mentioned it I am curious to be more attentive to it next time on the surfboard.

Yeh I would like to try a hydrofoil for sure.

In the end it is up to the individual really. Also as far as challenging is concerned all three disciplines have no end to their challenges. Even after 13 years I am still learning new things all the time and that's just hooked in! Unhooked I leave for the young crew with stronger bodies except in the waves. Unhooked is awesome in the waves.
You can't really say one is better than the other just different.

I love watching vids of mark shinn on a skim, and that latest world chamo on his noth Neo doing those strapless tricks on a SB ( what's his name again?), and some downwinders in the past I have marvelled at crew riding strapless a couple of km out down isolated outer reef breaks where I am shitting myself strapped in!! It is all about what one suites and to me directionals are not it! Not even close. They are for amusement purposes only, although I'd like one day to ride strapless and naked now that would be liberating !! Lol